BXBX NOVEL Chapter 496 162 - Perserios territory - part 5 - Countering the plan that was thirty years in the making (part 28)
Chapter 496 162 - Perserios territory - part 5 - Countering the plan that was thirty years in the making (part 28)
"[Zoemi, why are we not teleporting away if the plan was compromised?]""|Sorry for that. I am thinking about what we should do with the rest of the soldiers on the site – how do things look on your side?|"
"..."
Zoemi responded without mentioning the reason for the failure, but even so, he felt Burushi flinching as she tensed up after hearing him speak.
When the pair had left the house, the flames had already spread from the one room to the rest of the structure and even on the outside, sending clouds of grayish smoke high into the sky.
"Mother...?! MOTHER!"
"..."
"...!"
Just as if it was timed by a malicious higher being, a dark-haired young man shouted in panic while running full speed towards the burning building just when Zoemi and Burushi had exited it.
Neither of them was happy – but while the blond girl was scared, the black-haired boy looked more angry than anything.
"WHERE IS MY MOTHER?! WHY DIDN'T YOU GET HER OUT OF THERE?!"
The young man roared in despair, clearly about to bust his way into the house – which was probably the best turn of events for the others as it meant that he would not attack them immediately, giving them enough time to get away...
"FUCK OFF, YOU SCUM! WHAT KIND OF SON ARE YOU, NOT REALIZING THAT YOUR OWN MOTHER HAD DIED AND YOU CARED ONLY FOR HER REANIMATED CORPSE?!"
"?!?!??!"
...but Zoemi who had lost his own mother, certainly couldn't keep his emotions at bay and roared back, upset almost as much as George – which actually managed to stun the young man in place, with his hand extended towards the door.
"DUMBASS!"
*BOOOOM*
Zoemi turned out to be furious enough to actually use his own mana despite knowing about the consequences. As for the spell itself – it created a ten-foot-tall, circular wall around George, and then the dark-haired young man himself was launched high into the air together with two feet of earth from underneath his feet.
No mana was used on the spiritual power user himself, so everything worked out as intended, and even despite the pain piercing through his stomach as if he was stabbed with burning iron, Zoemi could witness his opponent being sent into the sky.
"Now we can go. Little ones, teleport us away – just nowhere near any of our allies, please."
While Burushi was left speechless, with her jaw dropped as she was raising her head to stare up, the black-haired boy merely gritted his teeth and called out to his sentinels.
"(Eeehhh?! Already? Okay...)"
At least one of the murky-black spheres was dejected about ending the barrage before wiping out all of the hostiles, but even so, that did not prevent it from complying with its master's wish.
"L... LAW OF ARIES...!"
*WHAM* *CRACK*
Zoemi, Burushi, Miriette, the two sentinels who came with them, and the acid magician – Roiso at the moment – all disappeared in the flash of a murk light and were not present for George's landing.
"...ghhhh...! GHAAAAAARGHHHHH...!"
It wasn't a pleasant sight – the dark-haired man did survive, but even though he was desperately using the power of the stars to aid himself, his legs snapped like twigs and he let out a pained howl as the bones shattered and splintered, ripping their way out of his flesh.
"...m... mother..."
Almost biting his lips off, the dark-haired young man cried, reaching his hand towards the building completely engulfed in flames.
There was no help as the notion of the abrupt end of the assault have not yet spread across all survivors so not a single soldier began regrouping – or carrying for anyone other than themselves, for the matter.
-------
"Alright... what happened...?"
Miriette asked, walking towards the incredibly upset Zoemi, reaching her hand towards him and gently grabbing his wrist.
"George's mother was already dead – the curses were what was keeping her body and rest of the mind functioning... although I can't be sure about the mind of hers really belonging to her alone."
The black-haired boy explained taking a step towards the dark-haired girl and hugging her tightly looking for comfort as the pain in his stomach was getting overwhelmingly hard to ignore.
"She began attacking us without even knowing what she was doing – and ended up setting herself on fire when we figured things out – she was a fire magician."
He continued while nuzzling his cheek against the top of Miriette's head as her hair began to curl up and tickle his skin.
"Well... we can still paint it as the Barbariacca nation troops being the cause of..."
Miriette softly patted Zoemi's back to reassure him and was trying to make up a plan that would get them the best outcome from that rather terrible situation...
"George returned to the camp just in time to see not only its destruction but the house that his mother's corpse was residing in being set on fire."
...unfortunately, the black-haired boy had some more information to share with her – and they certainly were not of a good kind...
"Oh..."
Miriette let out a short troubled voice before burrowing her face in Zoemi's chest, preferring to stay silent and enjoy the peace while she could, because honestly there was no way that peace was an option anymore.
"I don't know if I would even worry about that guy in your place. The last time I saw him, he was so high up that there was no chance of his survival upon landing."
Burushi, sitting on the ground a few feet to the side of the main couple, sighed and looked up at the two of them,
"If he can use the same type of techniques as William, then he should have no trouble with that much. Didn't you see the fight with him? That guy survived a full-on iceberg exploding in his face."
The black-haired boy moved his head just a little bit to have a clear look at the blond girl and answered with complete confidence.
"And even if he isn't as resilient, the star power does have a healing technique – William definitely used one. And speaking about techniques – it isn't even certain that it was actually George – William could create copies of himself. We need to be extremely careful from now on, and..."
Zoemi waved his hand dismissively, being reminded about the ridiculously close fight with the white-haired man.
Back then he would have never made it out alive if not for Ludier's unique shadow, who then was destroyed by the star power.
"If you say so..."
Burushi was not convinced about that logic, but she wasn't in the mood for arguing so she just shrugged and looked away.
"(Master – we found what looks like it could be one of the important spots in the big cursed altar – acid magician asks whether she can destroy it already.)"
Although Zoemi was certainly not done yet, his intention changed when the sentinels whom he sent out together with the acid magician with the sole purpose of breaking the massive curse altar from the inside.
"That's a piece of good news if I ever heard one! Of course, she can!"
"...?"
The black-haired boy called out, perking up and making Miriette and Burushi look up at him with confusion.
"(Understood! Master – if you can, look at the peak of the mountain!)"
"They found something that might be one of the cursed items essential for keeping up the barrier, and are about to get rid of it!)"
The sentinels cheered out enthusiastically, and its excitement was shared by the black-haired boy who shared it with the two girls.
"Oh, thank goodness... I was beginning to feel like a bug trapped under a glass!"
Miriette snorted and hugged Zoemi's tighter, not interested in the possible visual effects of the destruction.
"Yah, breaking it as fast as possible is the correct choice. The forces inside now know that we have the power to seriously threaten them, so they might attempt to at least wipe out the free tribes spread around the mountain range. Just remember to contact the first prince as soon as possible – the last thing we want is to let the Barbariacca nation make the first move even after we have taken them by surprise."
Burushi agreed, waving her hand vaguely in the direction they knew the other nation was located.
"At first I thought that whoever at Barbariacca nation came up with the plan, and was oh so careful about putting it into motion, was quite smart. On paper. But when it was all put into motion, it failed quite spectacularly. Even though my presence here was a miscalculation, Zoemi, you alone would be far too much for them to handle, and you were supposed to be a scapegoat."
Mieirette nodded at the blond girl's words and gazed up at the black-haired boy.
"How hard do you have to underestimate someone who is said to be sage, to try and push the blame on him while he has such power at his disposal."
"That's right... that does not seem right – Barbariaca nation was so careful and meticulous with the preparations, but overlooked checking Zoemi's background...? That doesn't make much sense..."
Miriette added and Burushi scratched her cheek, furrowing her brows.
*KSHOOOOOOOM*
"!!!!"
"!!!!"
"!!!!"
They all became silent – but it did not last long as an explosion of neon-pink extremely corrosive acid washed over the mountain peak, with a booming sound echoing through the miles.
"(Target destroyed, mas... eh...?)"
The happy sentinel cheered for the job well done, but then it stumbled in its words, gasping in utter shock.